John Cusack wouldn't pay 2 dollars for 'Better Off Dead' on Blu-ray

The John Cusack/Savage Steve Holland classic Better Off Dead has just been released on Blu-ray. So if you want to see "a study in moppishness," that's the good news. The bad news: There's not one single special feature on the disc (unless you count the theatrical trailer).

Don't get me wrong: If you don't already own Better Off Dead on DVD, then by all means buy the Blu-ray if you're into clearer pictures and what-not. It's a must-own film of the '80s. Easily one of Cusack's best performances, even if the actor still hates it to this day.

We went up to Cape Cod to do One Crazy Summer, and we had a screening of Better Off Dead… and John walked out within the first 10 minutes," Holland tells Entertainment Weekly. "I just thought he was going to the bathroom or something, and he never came back. The next day, we were supposed to start shooting, and he looked really pissed off. He just said that he hated the movie, and, from the sense that I got, that I betrayed him making a movie so stupid."

And the stalemate continues, Holland told the magazine.

"To this day, he won’t even talk about the movie. It’s almost like he made a snuff film or something," Holland said. "I still look at it and think it’s one of the cutest movies he’s ever done as far as him being a great character and a really good lovable guy. It’s so long ago, but it still hurts me. It’s sorta like having your best friend say, ‘I always hated you.’ You’re like, ‘What?’"

Since Cusack won't own up to it, we won't honor him in today's list.

TOP 5 MEMORABLE NON-JOHN CUSACK LINES FROM BETTER OFF DEAD:

5. "This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"

4. "What's a little boy like you doing with big boy smut like this?"

3. "It's got raisins in it... you like raisins."

2. "Truly a sight to behold. A man beaten. The once great champ, now, a study in moppishness."

About this blog

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times correspondent Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to big hair.